List of lost settlements in the United Kingdom facts for kids

A lost settlement is a place where people used to live, like a village or town, but it's now empty or gone. Sometimes, these places are called deserted medieval villages (DMVs) because many were abandoned during the Middle Ages. Other times, they are called shrunken villages if only a small part of the original settlement remains. There are many reasons why a settlement might disappear, such as changes in farming, natural disasters, or even new building projects. In England alone, experts think there might be as many as 3,000 lost villages!

Lost Settlements in England

Many lost settlements in England are listed under their old historical counties, not the modern ones.

Bedfordshire's Lost Villages

• Stratton: This village was once near Biggleswade.
• Ruxox: You would have found this settlement near Ampthill.

Berkshire's Vanished Places

Many places in Berkshire are now part of Oxfordshire.

• Barcote: Near Littleworth, the old manor house still stands.
• East Compton: Near Compton, the church is still there, even though the village is gone.
• Seacourt: Near Wytham, you can still see the old earthworks, which show where the roads used to be.

Buckinghamshire's Empty Sites

• Ackhampstead: Near Frieth, there are no visible remains left of this village.
• Old Wolverton: This was once a settlement in what is now Milton Keynes.

Cambridgeshire's Hidden History

This section includes villages from Huntingdonshire, which became part of Cambridgeshire in 1974.

• Clopton: This village was near Croydon.
• Cratendune: Believed to be near Ely.
• Stonea Camp: This was an old Iron Age hill fort, a type of ancient settlement, in the hamlet of Stonea.

Cheshire's Disappeared Village

• Tatton: The history of Tatton includes a lost settlement.

Cumbria's Submerged Communities

• Mardale: This village was lost when a reservoir was built.
• Snittlegarth: Another lost settlement in Cumbria.

Derbyshire's Underwater Secrets

Some villages here were flooded to create reservoirs.

• Ashopton and Derwent: Both of these villages were submerged under the Ladybower Reservoir. Imagine a whole village disappearing under water!
• Alkmonton medieval settlement: Found between Uttoxeter and Derby.

Devon's Coastal and Mining Losses

Devon has lost settlements due to changes in industry and the sea.

• Gawton and New Quay: These were ports on the river Tamar that were abandoned in the early 1900s when mining declined.
• Hallsands: This village and its beach were lost to the sea due to coastal erosion.
• Grimspound: This was a very old settlement from the late Bronze Age on Dartmoor.
• Morwellham Quay: This port became mostly abandoned after local mines closed. It's now an open-air museum.

Dorset's Military Takeover

• Tyneham: This village was taken over by the British Armed Forces during World War II and its residents had to leave.
• Maryland: On Brownsea Island, this village was built for a pottery business that didn't succeed. Its people were later forced to leave by the island's owner.

County Durham's Vanishing Acts

• Carlbury: Much of this village was demolished in the late 1940s to make way for the A67 road.
• Ulnaby: This village was abandoned in the 1500s.

Gloucestershire's Lost Places

• Charlton: This village was demolished in the late 1940s to make space for an extension of Filton Airfield.

Herefordshire's Deserted Sites

Herefordshire has many deserted medieval villages, including:

• Chilstone
• Kilpeck
• Lower Bullingham

Hertfordshire's Many Disappearances

Hertfordshire has a long list of lost settlements, often marked by old earthworks or just a name on a map. Some examples include:

• Ayot St Lawrence and Ayot St Peter
• Caldecote
• Digswell
• Stevenage (the old village site)

Kent's Marshland Mysteries

Many lost villages in Kent are found in the Romney Marsh, often due to changes in the marshland or coastal shifts.

• Dode (Dowde): This village, near Gravesend, is now famous for its old church.
• Hampton-on-Sea: This village was lost to the sea due to coastal erosion.
• Hope All Saints: Another lost village in the marsh.

Lancashire's Submerged and Abandoned Places

• Gambleside: This village was abandoned in 1866.
• Greenbooth: This village was abandoned and then submerged under a reservoir.

Leicestershire's Extensive Losses

Leicestershire has a very large number of lost settlements, many of them deserted medieval villages.

• Ambion: Near Sutton Cheney, this village was supposedly abandoned around the time of the Battle of Bosworth.
• Bradgate: In Newtown Linford, this village was abandoned to make way for the building of Bradgate House.
• Bromkinsthorpe: This lost place in Leicester is now known as Braunstone Gate.
• Ratae Corieltauvorum: This was a Roman-British town that was later replaced by the city of Leicester.

Lincolnshire's Vanished Communities

Lincolnshire also has many lost villages, some of which are very well preserved as archaeological sites.

• Gainsthorpe: Near Kirton Lindsey, this is one of the best-preserved deserted medieval village sites in Britain and is cared for by English Heritage.
• Sempringham: A shrunken village where only a small part of the original settlement remains.
• Waterton: Another lost settlement in Lincolnshire.

Merseyside's Island Story

• Stanlow Island: A lost settlement on an island.

Middlesex's Airport Expansion

• Heathrow (or "Heath Row"): This hamlet was demolished in the 1940s to allow for the construction of London Heathrow Airport.

Norfolk's Numerous Disappearances

Norfolk is believed to have around 200 lost settlements, many from the medieval period.

• Dunwich: This was a very important medieval town that has been largely lost to coastal erosion. Only a small part of it survives as a village today.
• Easton Bavents and Slaughden: These were also lost to coastal erosion.

Northamptonshire's Many Lost Places

Northamptonshire has a long list of deserted villages.

• Althorp: A lost settlement near the famous Althorp House.
• Faxton: Another example of a deserted medieval village in the county.
• Holdenby: A lost settlement near the historic Holdenby House.

Northumberland's Empty Sites

• Anterchester
• West Backworth

Nottinghamshire's Deserted Lands

Nottinghamshire has many lost settlements, some with interesting names.

• Adbolton
• Clumber: A lost settlement that gave its name to Clumber Park.
• Flawford: A lost village site.
• Thoresby: Another lost settlement.

Oxfordshire's Former Villages

Some of these villages were once in Berkshire but moved to Oxfordshire with boundary changes.

• Ditchley: South of Enstone.
• Rycote or Rycote Magna: South-west of Thame.
• Tusmore: South of Brackley.

Rutland's Historic Losses

• Alsthope: East of Oakham.
• Hardwick: This was the site of the Battle of Losecote Field.
• Martinsthorpe: South of Oakham.

Shropshire's Deserted Settlements

• Upton Cressett medieval settlement: Located at Upton Cressett.

Somerset's Abandoned Communities

• Clicket: A small village abandoned by 1891.
• Moreton: Abandoned in the early 1950s to create the Chew Valley Lake reservoir.
• Nether Adber: A medieval settlement that existed before the current village of Marston Magna.

Suffolk's Coastal Erosion and Parklands

• Akethorpe: Now part of Lowestoft.
• Dunwich: A significant medieval town largely lost to coastal erosion.
• Little Redisham: This village was cleared to create parkland.

Surrey's Palace Project

• Cuddington: This village was demolished to allow for the construction of Nonsuch Palace. Its site now lies under Nonsuch Park.
• Gatton: Another lost settlement in Surrey.

Sussex's Vanished Places

Sussex has many lost settlements, some due to coastal changes or other reasons.

• Balsdean: A lost village site.
• Heene: Once a separate village, now part of Worthing.
• Tidemills: A village lost to coastal erosion.

Warwickshire's Historic Sites

• Cestersover
• Stretton Baskerville
• Wolfhampcote

Wiltshire's Military and Medieval Losses

• Imber: This village was taken over for military use in 1943 and its residents were forced to leave.
• Old Sarum: This ancient settlement was replaced by the city of Salisbury from the 13th century onwards.
• Snap: Near Aldbourne, this village was abandoned in the early 1900s.

Worcestershire's Deserted Areas

• Elmley Lovett
• Rock moated site and medieval village: At Rock.

Yorkshire's Famous Lost Villages

• Wharram Percy DMV: Near Malton, this is one of the best-preserved deserted medieval village sites in Britain and is cared for by English Heritage.
• Argam: In the East Riding of Yorkshire.
• Henderskelfe: Near Castle Howard.

Lost Settlements in Scotland

Aberdeenshire's Sand-Covered Villages

• Forvie and Rattray: Both settlements were abandoned because they were covered by encroaching sand-dunes.
• Kincardine: Formerly the main town of Kincardineshire.

Berwickshire's Relocated Towns

• Duns: The original town was destroyed by the English three times in the 1500s, and the modern town was rebuilt about 1 km away.
• Langton: This village was cleared to make way for parkland and was replaced by the modern village of Gavinton.

Caithness's Abandoned Community

• Badbea: An abandoned village in Caithness.

East Ayrshire's Submerged Village

• Glenbuck: This village was inundated (flooded) under Strathclyde Loch.

East Lothian's Cleared Villages

• Tyninghame and Yester: These villages were cleared in the 1700s to make way for parkland or new planned villages.

Fife's Vanished Places

• Binnend
• Lassodie

Highland's Clearance Village

• Boreraig: On the Isle of Skye, this was a "clearance village," meaning its residents were forced to leave during the Highland Clearances.

Lanarkshire's Underwater Village

• Bothwellhaugh: This village was flooded and now lies under Strathclyde Loch.

Moray's Inundated Settlement

• Findhorn: The original settlement was lost to flooding.

Na h-Eileanan Siar's Forced Evacuation

• St. Kilda: This remote island community was forced to evacuate in the early 1900s.

Peeblesshire's Lost Place

• Hawkshaw

Perthshire's Deserted Village

• Pitmiddle

Roxburghshire's Destroyed Burghs

• Riccarton Junction: This settlement was abandoned after the railway line it served closed.
• Roxburgh: This was a very important settlement and even acted as a capital of Scotland. It was destroyed many times during wars and finally abandoned in the late 1400s.

Lost Settlements in Wales

Anglesey's Vanished Places

• Nant Mawr: In Llaneugrad.
• Bodgynddelw: Also in Llaneugrad, a farmhouse still exists by a modern name.

Powys's Submerged Villages

• Dylife: A lost settlement.
• Llanwddyn: This village was submerged by the Lake Vyrnwy reservoir.

Monmouthshire's Deserted Sites

• St. Brides Netherwent
• Runston
• Trellech

Neath Port Talbot's Motorway Loss

• Groes: This village was demolished to make way for the M4 motorway.

Lost Settlements in Northern Ireland

Antrim's Vanished Village

• Galboly village

Down's Island Settlements

• Copeland Island and Lighthouse Island: Settlements on these islands are now lost.